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jinxedruby · 3 months ago

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Whumptober Day One: Race Against the Clock

Featuring Twilight, Wild, and Four.

Here we go for the... second time this year. Yeah, I didn't plan this out very well. Burnout be damned, we're doing this. I'll be doing half-and-half of this and Inktober with companion pieces. The "next part" link will go to the art piece once it's up, then to the next chapter, and so on. We'll see if I can do all of this one as well!

Heads up for some wound description in this chapter.

AO3

Next part ->

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A sharp whistle startled Twilight from a deep sleep. He jolted upwards, fumbling for his sword as vertigo swirled in his head. A growling roar sounded beside him. Something heavy slammed into his chest, sending him crashing to his back with a grunt. Teeth flashed in his vision, something sharp digging into the skin of his chest. He threw his hands up, caught the wolfos’s neck before the jaws could close around his throat. A strained cry escaped through his gritted teeth as he struggled to get the wolfos off of him. It snarled and snapped its teeth inches away from his face.

A short yell preceded the sound of metal through flesh. The wolfos yelped and Twilight managed to hurl it off of himself, scrambling up with a gasp. Wild darted past him and plunged his sword into the monster again, finishing it off. Twilight quickly snatched up his own sword, yanking it from its scabbard and whirling around to locate more enemies. He saw Sky swiftly kill a wolfos, Wind cutting down another behind him. He turned farther, but there didn’t seem to be any more monsters.

“Is that- is that it?” Legend said breathlessly, bare feet twisting in the grass as he looked around, sword raised.

“Seems like it,” Sky replied.

“You okay, Rancher?” Wild asked, wiping his blade on the grass.

Twilight nodded then winced, reaching up to rub his stinging chest. He stuck a hand down his shirt, gently brushing his fingers along the skin. He felt wetness and some shallow abrasions, but it didn’t seem to be anything serious. “Just some scratches.”

“I’m sorry for not waking you all sooner,” Time said with a frown. “I didn’t hear them until the last moment.”

“No worries, old man.” Legend collapsed facedown into his bedroll. He mumbled something into his pillow before going still.

Twilight patted his chest lightly, frowning at the blood seeping into his shirt. It really didn’t hurt all that much, but he should probably get a bandage over it to at least keep his clothes clean. As he pulled a roll of bandages from his bag, he noticed Warriors standing at the edge of camp, sword still in hand.

“Where’s our smith?” Warriors called.

As if in response, distant howling rang out. The haunting sound echoing out into the night sang familiar to Twilight’s ears. The song of a hunt. He stiffened. Barely giving himself time to pull on his boots, he shoved the bandages into his pocket and sprinted into the trees.

“Rancher-!”

“Hang on, I’m coming with!” Wild cut off Warriors, jogging after Twilight.

Twilight heard Time say something to Warriors but he didn’t pay attention, hurrying away from camp as quickly as he could. As soon as he deemed it far enough away, he shifted into his wolf form. Immediately, the sharp, tangy scent of blood became glaringly apparent. Another howl came, this one accompanied by a yell, high with pain. He shot toward the sound, Wild dashing after him. The scent of blood grew stronger as he went. He spurred his legs on faster, the trees whipping by in a blur. A dark splatter of blood painted the grass just ahead. He lunged over it, followed the trail of red droplets beyond it. He heard growling, spotted a blob of black and gray through the trees. His ears flattened. The wolfos didn’t even have time to turn before Twilight dove into it.

He sank his teeth into the wolfos’s shoulder and held on as they rolled in a mass of fur and claws. It landed on its back, Twilight tearing at it with his teeth. The wolfos howled and thrashed. It kicked its back legs, claws ripping slashes along Twilight’s middle. He yelped and rolled away, pain burning in the wounds. The wolfos growled and pounced. He darted out of the way, the wolfos streaking past. It readjusted quickly, claws of its long forelegs digging into the ground as it turned. It and Twilight lunged at once, the two colliding midair. Twilight’s teeth found its throat. As they hit the ground, he clamped down and yanked. Something snapped, blood burst into his mouth. He twisted and flung the wolfos to the ground. He held on until the wolfos’s flailing turned to twitching. He only released it once the monster fell still.

He stumbled back and collapsed to his stomach with a huff. He lay there for only a moment before abruptly remembering Four. He forced himself to his feet and turned. Wild stood several paces behind him, sword drawn, staring at him with wide eyes. Twilight froze.

“Well, damn,” Wild said simply. No fear in his voice. Twilight relaxed minutely then returned to looking around, trying to find any sign of Four. The smell of blood choked his nose, coming from seemingly everywhere. He absently licked his muzzle, then grimaced as he realized why everything smelled like blood. He shifted back into a human so he could clean himself up. Searing pains erupted in his abdomen and his wolfish yelped warped into a human cry.

“Rancher!” Wild shouted, hurrying to his side.

Twilight hissed through his teeth, wrapping an arm around his middle, the other braced against the ground to keep his balance.

“It’s fine,” he gritted out, struggling to push himself back into a kneel. The lacerations along his chest cried out in protest. “Just- just smarts.”

“That does not look fine,” Wild replied, brow furrowed as his gaze darted around Twilight’s abdomen. He reached for his slate. “Here, I-”

“No, we have to find the smith,” Twilight interrupted. He forced himself to one knee with a grunt, willing the burning of his wounds to subside faster.

Wild grabbed his shoulder to keep him from standing. “I will find the smith, you will take a potion.”

Twilight opened his mouth, reaching to push Wild’s hand off of him, when he heard a soft noise. He went still, holding a finger to his lips. Wild quieted, glancing around. The sound came again, hushed and cracking. Twilight turned to the direction it came from, narrowing his eyes at the forest.

“Guys,” a small, weak voice croaked.

Twilight and Wild both shot to their feet, the former stumbling as pain burned deep in his wounds. He blinked the reflexive tears from his eyes, following Wild to the tree the voice had come from. It appeared half dead, bark graying and cracking, shrubs encroaching on the space around the trunk. Stubby, splintered remainders of branches stretched toward the sky, devoid of leaves. Not immediately seeing Four, Twilight circled the tree, trying to find him. A dead wolfos lay beside the tree, Four’s sword sticking out of its skull. Twilight moved faster, eyes darting between ferns and bushes and trees.

“Is he up top?” Wild suggested, craning his neck back to look in the branches.

“Smith?” Twilight called as he completed the circle around the tree. He kept one arm pressed to his chest, resolutely ignoring the harsh stinging in his flesh.

“In- in here,” Four called weakly.

It seemed to come from directly in front of them. Twilight moved around the tree again, frantic confusion fraying his nerves. Just as he opened his mouth to call out again, his gaze landed on a spot in the trunk partially obscured behind a shrub. He crouched down, shoved the branches of the shrub aside. Doing so revealed a small split in the trunk of the tree, wider at the bottom and tapering off about a foot or so high. The widest part appeared barely big enough for him to fit even his hips through, let alone his shoulders. But it might have been just big enough for a very small hero. He positioned himself by the bush to keep it pushed aside and ducked down.

Four lay huddled on the ground inside of the hollow tree, half-curled to fit within the trunk. Both of his hands pressed to his right thigh, doing little to staunch the flow of blood. The red liquid utterly soaked his pant leg and the hem of his tunic, growing into a pool beneath his leg. He slowly turned his head to look at Twilight, eyes hazy, blinks long and languid.

Twilight’s heart leapt into his throat. He threw a shout over his shoulder. “He’s in here!”

“Wh-” Wild lunged toward him, crouching and wedging in beside him to look into the hollow. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and immediately pulled out his slate, tapping the surface rapidly. “Smithy! How’d you get in there?”

Several beats passed before Four responded with a hum. “Dunno. Ju… just dove f’r it.” He looked paler by the second. The edges of the pool of blood beneath his leg crept steadily outwards. His face scrunched up. “Think I’m gonna be sick.”

Glowing blue strings sprouted from Wild’s slate and merged together into the shape of a bottle. Wild snatched up the potion the moment it finished forming. He nearly dropped it, cursed, fumbled to stick his arm through the split in the trunk, and held it out to Four. “Can you keep an elixir down? Should stop the bleeding.”

Four’s gaze settled on the bottle, brow furrowed. He stared at it for a very long moment before slowly taking a hand off his leg and taking the potion. He kept one hand pressed futilely to his bleeding thigh, struggling to open the bottle with the other. After several failed attempts, he brought it to his mouth and pulled the cork out with his teeth. Spitting the cork to the ground, he drank about half before his movements stalled. Then he slumped all at once, arm going slack, the half-empty bottle thudding to the ground.

“Smithy!” Wild shouted.

Twilight stretched his arm into the hollow, only to find Four just barely out of reach. He cursed, lowering onto his back and pressing as close to the tree as he could, stretching his arm out as far as it would go. The movement caused the wounds in his chest to protest but he pushed past it. His fingers brushed the fabric of Four’s tunic. They scrabbled before hooking around the edge of his hood. Tightening his grip and praying this wouldn’t hurt Four any further, he braced his other hand against the tree and began dragging Four out. Pain screamed from the gashes along his chest and he choked on a yelp, screwing his eyes shut.

Hands wrapped around his underarms and pulled. He clenched his teeth against the onslaught of pain as Wild hauled him back. He kept a death grip on Four’s hood, dragging the little smith out of the hollow and onto the grass. The moment he came free, Wild released Twilight and rushed to Four’s side. Twilight struggled to sit up, black specks fizzling in the edges of his vision. He blinked them away in time to see Wild’s hands hovering over Four’s leg, face stricken. Eventually, he just wrapped his hands around it best he could before throwing a helpless look up at Twilight.

“You don’t have bandages?” Twilight asked breathlessly as he moved to check Four’s pulse. The little smith’s face was stark white, chest rising and falling in time with his quick, shallow breaths.

“I- it- it’s all back at camp I only have what’s in my Slate,” Wild stammered.

Twilight knotted his lips. He didn’t have anything on him, either. He’d only grabbed his sword before- His eyes widened. He dug a hand into his pocket, withdrawing the wad of bandages he’d grabbed for himself before the howling started. He’d forgotten he had those. He quickly took Wild’s place at Four’s side. He grabbed the edges of the hole in Four’s pants and tore it open wider. Blood completely obscured the wound and he mopped some of it up with the bandages. Large puncture marks wreathed the smith’s thigh, oozing dark blood that trailed over his leg even as Twilight wiped it away.

“Bite marks,” Wild realized.

“Must have been the wolfos he killed.” Twilight wound the bandage tightly around Four’s leg before any more blood could be lost. The movement pulled at the wounds on his chest and he bit back a groan. He absently pressed an arm to his chest after securing the bandage, watching as little circles of red bloomed on the cloth. If the half of a potion Four drank had slowed the bleeding, it wasn’t by much. “We need to get him back to camp.”

“Wait, wait!” Wild’s call just as Twilight moved to lift Four made him hesitate. Wild leapt up and dashed back to the tree. He lay flat on his stomach and shoved his arm into the hollow. After a moment, he reemerged with the half-empty potion in hand.

“You drink the rest,” he said, hurrying back to Twilight and holding it out. “You’re still bleeding a lot.”

Twilight opened his mouth to refuse before refocusing on the severity of the burning in his chest. He would need to carry Four, but the pain of the wounds would make that difficult. Not to mention it would probably take longer that way. He chewed his lip but relented after a moment, accepting the potion and downing the rest. Wild darted off again as he did. Twilight heard a wet sounding shunk before he returned with Four’s blood-slicked sword in hand. Twilight gave him a grateful nod before lifting Four up. Pain flared in his chest but at a more bearable level than before he’d drunk the potion. The moment Twilight made it to his feet, Wild began leading the way back. Twilight trotted after him, trying to avoid jostling Four as much as he could. He hadn’t exactly been paying attention to where he’d been going on the way here and felt glad Wild remembered the way back.

He glanced down at Four’s pale face. Four’s breaths came shallowly through whitened lips, but he still breathed. Twilight held onto that fact as he tightened his grip on Four and quickened his pace.

#linked universe #linked universe fic #ruby writes #whumptober #whumptober 2024 #lu twilight #lu wild #lu four #i had to watch videos of wolves fighting for this one lol #warriors: oh they’re back- HOLY SHIT RANCHER DID YOU EAT SOMETHING WHILE IT WAS STILL LIVING

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